Teleoperation – Principles and technologies

Teleoperation, or "remote operation" in its most general sense, is a set of techniques that enable man to transpose his real-time action capabilities (observation, manipulation) to a distance, thanks to sensory feedback. In this article, we'll confine ourselves to manipulators that can act mechanically at a distance using sensory feedback (vision and effort to a minimum), used mainly in environments that are inaccessible or hostile to man (nuclear, space, submarine, underground, human body, off-shore, etc.). These master-slave telemanipulators with force feedback go far beyond primitive manipulation tools such as pliers, and enable complex manipulation tasks to be carried out.

The first in a series of three articles dedicated to teleoperation aims to introduce the various terms used in the field, and also to give the reader an overview of the most commonly used technologies.

In a second article [S 7 811] , we'll look at the problem of controlling these systems.

The final part of this series, [S 7 812] , looks at the various applications of this technology in controlled areas, and the prospects for future developments.